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Charlotte Transit safety issues
A multitude of safety issues plagues Charlotte Transit at the current moment. Some of the safety issues are in violation of Federal law and also non-compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990. Title II: Public Entities and Public Transport Title II prohibits disability discrimination by all public entities at the local (i.e. school district, municipal, city, county) and state level. Public entities must comply with Title II regulations by the U.S. Department of Justice. These regulations cover access to all programs and services offered by the entity. Access includes physical access described in the ADA Standards for Accessible Design and programmatic access that might be obstructed by discriminatory policies or procedures of the entity. Title II also applies to public transportation provided by public entities through regulations by the U.S. Department of Transportation. It includes the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, along with all other commuter authorities. This section requires the provision of paratransit services by public entities that provide fixed route services. Safety issues Charlotte Transit buses are in-a-nutshell, maintained decently, however not as astringent. On some of the buses that operates on the streets currently, there is no yellow line marking where the limit of straphangers are met. Federal law requires that there is a yellow line separating the bus operator's area and the passenger seating area; and every person, regardless of employment status of aforementioned transport authority, must keep both feet behind the yellow line at all times when the bus is in motion. On the older NovaBUS fleet, the main problem is accessibility for those who are handicapped. Operators have complained about wheelchair lifts becoming stuck midway into retraction and deployment. In addition, operators have complained that when the bus is in kneeling position, it is difficult to return to normal position suitable for road conditions. On some of the older Gillig fleet operating on CATS' local bus routes, riders complain of a smell of diesel, causing some buses to be immediately taken out of service midway into the trip. In complete violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990, CATS operates a fleet of Optima American Heritage Trolley buses, mainly for routes in Centre City Charlotte and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The entire fleet of Trolleybuses are not handicapped accessible, as a result of wheelchair ramps sustaining unrepairable damage. Numbers 867 and 815 of the NovaBUS fleet have been at the height of controversy. Many riders have complained to the operators who drives those buses complaining of back trouble and aches. Lamarr Blocker calls those buses "a rollover waiting to happen. The buses are lopsided anyways." Some of CATS accidents are due to operator error. One prime example as explained by the administrator: "The Sprinter hops on I-77 by making an illegal turn onto the on-ramp, when there is a (much safer) spirally on-ramp that takes you to the same side." In December 2009, Blocker was heading to Wal-Mart Supercentre on the Sprinter route, when a car ran into the bus while the bus was turning left into a on-ramp which is only for people keeping straight or turning right onto the Interstate from Trade St. Three people from the bus was taken to hospital for injuries. The driver was remanded for 6 hours for DUI."